To all those born before 1986

[Capt. Picard]

To all those born before 1986

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.

When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip-flops and fluorescent 'spokey dokey's' on our wheels.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the same. We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy juice with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.

We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and
no-one actually died from this.

We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went
top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded. We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games
at all.

No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no
mobile phones, no personal computers, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms.

We had friends - we went outside and found them.

We played elastics and rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt!

We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones but there were no law suits.

We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents. We played 'tok-tokkie' and were actually afraid of the owners catching us.

We walked to friends' homes.

We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.

We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of...they actually sided with the law.

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem
solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an
explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

And if you're one of them. Congratulations!

Pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow as real kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for our own good.

For those of you who aren't old enough, thought you might like to
read about us. This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a smile on your face:

The majority of students in universities today were born in 1986........they are called youth.

They have never heard of We are the World, We are the children, and
the Uptown Girl they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel. They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena Cherry or Belinda Carlisle.

For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam. AIDS has existed since they were born. CD's have existed since they were born.

Michael Jackson has always been white.

To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and they can't
imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance. They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are films from last year.

They can never imagine life before computers. They'll never have pretended to be the A-Team, Red Hand Gang or the Famous Five. They can't believe a black and white television ever existed. And they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone.

Now let's check if we're getting old...

1. You understand what was written above and you smile.

2. You need to sleep more, usually until the afternoon, after a night out.

3. Your friends are getting married/already married.

4. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computers.

5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.

6. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the Good old Days, repeating again all the funny things you have experienced together.

7. Having read this mail, you are thinking of forwarding it to some other friends because you think they will like it too... Yes, you're getting old!!

[PeterJensen]

I'm from 1981

[sytaylor]

We had friends - we went outside and found them.

Ask any parent what they did as a kid and they will tell you there were always out. Then start quoting kids TV shows of the day (and their theme tunes) to them, and watch how they react. The idea that TV is a new phenomenon destroying the youth is silly. Got a fat kid? Ban them from the TV or inside the house... Kid perfectly healthy? Let them watch the 'toons man...

and FTR... 1984... Great year.

[grey_1]

We survived longer because the 60's flower chidren were on the way out and we didn't pull this 'emo' crap that so many try to call life these days.

1959 btw

[Capt. Picard]

Maybe I should put down my birth year as well. 1977

[Stoneyguy]

'75, and I had video games and video tape movies!

The part of MJ always being white made me laugh.

[Riptide]

'76. I'll never forget growing up in the 80's.

[ViN86]

i was born in 1986 and i have heard of everything you have mentioned. but hell, ive always been ahead of the curve (ha, i wish)

and for the record, i used to watch the WWF, knight rider, the A-Team, and McGuyver every Sunday.

i still remember hacksaw jim dugget (cant remember his last name), hulk hogan, andre the giant, bam bam bigolo, and the bushwhackers (the bushwhackers had that awesome entrance, ahah).

[SLippe]

1972

[sytaylor]

Originally Posted by ViN86

i was born in 1986 and i have heard of everything you have mentioned. but hell, ive always been ahead of the curve (ha, i wish)

and for the record, i used to watch the WWF, knight rider, the A-Team, and McGuyver every Sunday.

i still remember hacksaw jim dugget (cant remember his last name), hulk hogan, andre the giant, bam bam bigolo, and the bushwhackers (the bushwhackers had that awesome entrance, ahah).

You wanna go 80s wrestling knowledge? You're talking Steamboat/Flair. Snukka diving from the cage and wrestlemania. Hogan vs Warrior, Superstar Billy Graham, Bruno Sanmartino, LOD... to name a few.

[Superfly]

lol - '74 for me.

[Riptide]

Originally Posted by ViN86

and for the record, i used to watch the WWF, knight rider, the A-Team, and McGuyver every Sunday.

What no Airwolf? lol